WASHINGTON — Despite US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's saying that they had made progress in 10 hours of talks in Geneva on Aug. 26 and that just a few issues remained to be resolved, it seems increasingly unlikely that the United States and Russia will conclude a deal on Syria before US President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin are expected to meet on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in China on Sept. 4, and perhaps at all, diplomatic contacts said.
US-Russian negotiations in Geneva are due to resume Aug. 31, but it “doesn’t look particularly promising,” a diplomat involved in the discussions, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Al-Monitor. It’s “probably the last chance before Obama and Putin meet on Sunday in China.”
